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The Three Rs: Risk, Reward, Resources

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I received an email from a friend two days ago, urging me to check out a video via the attached link. The video is a reasoned and compelling argument for paying serious attention to global warming. The structure of the argument made me think about how much I learned about risk and reward in graduate business school, as well as what I learned about the political allocation of resources while studying political science and working in state government. Without a thorough understanding of these three Rs, Risk, Reward, and Resources, I think it must be hard to fully understand the significance of Climate Change. Without that understanding, I think the issue is subject not only to demagoguery, but also to obfuscation, to use not one but two $5 words in one sentence.

First, it's helpful for us to remark for a moment on the use of emails like this to stimulate political dialogue. Without the email from my friend, I'd have been unaware of this compelling argument. (I'd draw a distinction between this email and what one might otherwise call spam, perhaps distinctive because the content is compelling?) I found this not only an effective use of technology, but also one more example of the coming ExaFlood. When we use the Internet to get people to watch 10 minute videos, we're consuming more and more bandwidth. Apparently the ExaFlood is coming, right along with the flooding of coastal areas...

Please do watch this video, available after the jump, and then reflect on my commentary that follows in a subsequent post.

Posted on November 06, 2007 at 07:46 PM

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